Hank & Carol Fischer

Nathan Varley & Linda Thurston

HANK FISCHER  has been roaming the mountains, rivers and prairies of Montana for nearly thirty years.  When he wasn’t fighting for the return of wolves to Yellowstone or developing a unique plan to restore grizzly bears to central Idaho, he was searching out the best places in the Northern Rockies to watch wildlife and catch trout.  A respected advocate for grizzlies, wolves and many other endangered species (Hank was Defenders of Wildlife’s Northern Rockies director for 25 years), he knows where these animals live.  With him as your guide, you’ll view wildlife in their natural settings, an awe-inspiring and unforgettable experience.  As you relax in the evening, Hank will recount for you -- with a healthy dose of wit, humor and pragmatism – the inside story of what it took to restore wolves to the world’s most famous national park.   

 When not pursuing his work with large predators (he currently works for the National Wildlife Federation), Hank loves tennis, snowboarding, floating rivers, rock and roll trivia, his wife Carol and his two boys!

 Among his achievements, Hank:

 ◊ originated Defenders of Wildlife’s wolf and grizzly bear compensation programs, for which he received the prestigious Edward Lowe Foundation Enviro-Capitalist Award as well as the National Resources Council of America’s Award of Achievement. 

 ◊ was a leader in the ten-year effort to restore wolves to Yellowstone.  Hank chronicled this watershed conservation event in his book, Wolf Wars:  The Remarkable Inside Story of the Restoration of Wolves to Yellowstone Park.

◊ led the creation of statewide wildlife viewing systems for Montana and Idaho,

and is co-author of the Montana Wildlife

Viewing Guide.  He has floated nearly every river in Montana and is co-author of

Paddling Montana.

◊ has written over a hundred articles for natural resource publications and served as a regular commentator on Montana Public Radio for over a decade.  Hank received an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, where he focused on wildlife biology and journalism.  He has won numerous national conservation awards.

 CAROL FISCHER received an M.S. in Recreation Resource Management from the University of Montana.  She is co-author, along with husband Hank, of Paddling Montana and the Montana Wildlife Viewing Guide.  She grew up in Montana and knows almost every inch of the state, having floated most of its rivers and traveled to its far corners looking for unique wildlife viewing sites to place in the Montana Wildlife Viewing Guide. 

Carol has been a flyfishing guide and active mom.  She has been on the boards of the Montana Natural History Center, Rock Creek Advisory Council and Missoula City and County Parks. Carol’s other interests include golf, skiing, hiking, woodworking and cooking.

 Linda Thurston has worked with wolves in the Rocky Mountains for much of her career as a wildlife biologist.  She has done conservation work for agencies including the National Park Service in Yellowstone and Idaho Fish and Game in the Clearwater region of Idaho.  She worked on a wolf research project in Banff National Park, Alberta, for the University of Alberta.  Currently she works for Defenders of Wildlife on programs that aim to solve chronic problems of wolf predation on domestic livestock in Montana.  She also guides many people to see wolves in Yellowstone each year and shares her extensive experience in field courses for the Yellowstone Association Institute and other non-profit organizations.